Regent faces probe over murder case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The home affairs ministry promised yesterday to
\nlook into reports that the Bantul regent was involved in the
\nAugust murder of Yogyakarta journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafrudin.<\/p>\n
Ministry inspector general Soedarjat Nataatmadja said the
\nministry would conduct its own investigation into the murder of
\nthe Bernas daily journalist if police implicate the regent, Col.
\nSri Roso Sudarmo.<\/p>\n
Police in Yogyakarta said last week they have finished
\nquestioning the only suspect, Dwi Sumaji, and would submit the
\ndossiers to the prosecutors' office \"soon\".<\/p>\n
\"If the police implicate the regent, we will conduct our own
\ninvestigation into the case,\" Soedarjat said.<\/p>\n
Syafrudin, better known as Udin, was attacked at his home on
\nAug. 13. He died without regaining consciousness after three days
\nin intensive care in Bethesda Hospital. He is survived by a wife
\nand two children.<\/p>\n
His death drew concern from fellow journalists, who demanded a
\nthorough investigation into the murder.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), which
\nestablished its own fact-finding team, concluded that Udin was
\nmurdered because of his reporting on land disputes and the
\nmismanagement of poverty alleviation program funds in the Bantul
\nregency, Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
The association's findings were similar to the analysis of
\nsome observers, who believe the articles on land disputes caused
\nthe attack on him.<\/p>\n
The police have insisted all along that the murder had nothing
\nto do with the journalist's job. They arrested Sumaji because
\nthey believe he murdered Udin in a jealous rage.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the National Commission on Human Rights, which also
\nestablished a fact-finding team to investigate the murder case,
\nannounced in its findings: that it doubted police had caught
\nUdin's murderer, and that it had found human rights violations
\noccurred during the arrest and the investigation of Sumaji. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/regent-faces-probe-over-murder-case-1447893297",
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